WELCOMING MINISTRIES

Welcoming Ministries is a ministry of Gloria Dei members and friends intending to provide affirmation and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual , transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons and allies in the community. It overlaps with RIC (Reconciling in Christ) and Reconciling Works efforts within the congregation and Lutheran community, but also provides space at Gloria Dei and partnership with community support groups.

Gloria Dei has been an officially welcoming and affirming congregation since the 1990s. Within the Lutheran community, it is the first RIC congregation in the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, welcoming LGBTQ persons into all aspects of ministry and leadership, and establishing a chapter for Lutherans Concerned North America (now called Reconciling Works – www.reconcilingworks.org). Members of Gloria Dei have brought forward resolutions at our synod assemblies, advocating for the ordination of gay and lesbian pastors in life-partnerships – an official position of the ELCA since 2009 – and advocating against bullying. Gloria Dei has also been a resource congregation for other congregations in the region considering the process, including Messiah Lutheran Church in Mt. Iron, which became RIC in 2010.

Welcoming Ministries also provides space for support groups at Gloria Dei, and works with other inclusive efforts in the community.

This includes Together for Youth, a support group for LGBTQ teens ages 14-20, who meet weekly with a staff person from Lutheran Social Service of MN. It also includes a LGBT Elders Group. In 2012, Together for Youth received a grant to collaborate with the elders group on a puppet project to create giant puppets that represent individuals who have inspired LGBTQ persons in their respective generations. Working together and with local artist Mary Plaster, all participants learned from one another in the creative and storytelling process. These puppets, representing Brandon Tina for the younger generation and Walt Whitman for the elder generation, appeared at the RIC Sunday worship service in January 2013.

We also regularly participate in Pride Parade on Labor Day weekend. In 2012 and 2013, the church hosted the Duluth offices of Minnesotans United for All Families, advocating for marriage equality in Minnesota.